Recital (24)

Member States should be able to restrict the use of the relief-at-source system or the quick refund system in cases that present an elevated risk of tax fraud or tax abuse. Therefore it is appropriate to establish a list of such cases, where Member States have the possibility to exclude requests for relief and conduct further checks. In order to take into account the differences in national legal systems and, in particular, tax risk assessments, the establishment of such a list should not be mandatory and Member States should have discretion to determine which of such cases should be covered by the standard refund system. Member States should ensure that national rules transposing this Directive do not allow cases that Member States consider to present an elevated risk to benefit from relief at source or a quick refund. Such measures would ensure that tax authorities are better placed to combat abusive schemes, as they would have the possibility of conducting further checks to determine whether requests for relief are justified and are to be granted. One such measure consists of a threshold that is related to a gross dividend amount. That threshold should be calculated per registered owner or per investor entitled to relief of excess withholding tax if the registered owner is a collective investment undertaking or a designated legal person of such an undertaking. That threshold should not apply in cases where a collective investment undertaking established and regulated, or having a manager established and regulated, in the Union, a statutory pension scheme of a Member State or an institution for occupational retirement provision registered or authorised in a Member State in accordance with Article 9(1) of Directive (EU) 2016/2341 of the European Parliament and of the Council is entitled to relief. Those undertakings, schemes and institutions are highly regulated and subject to supervision by the national competent authorities and to robust internal controls. Such regulation and supervision enforce compliance with the relevant regulations and minimise the risk of tax fraud and tax abuse.